I HAVE A PROBLEM
by Strideshitt
Summary: I like stuff and things and thats what this story is full of rated m just because it looks better than a t maybe one day ill give this an actual good name
1. Marco

Richard was still a child to all the thieves. That wasn't hard to understand because he was the youngest out of everyone in the High Five Fingers. Marco teased him about it all the time; but it was the kind of good natured teasing that never hurt anyone's feelings. Plus Ricky was a lot faster than Marco, so he could always get back at him if he did do something a little too mean. For example, once he stole one of Marco's shoes and just ran around with it- taunting him as the other couldn't even keep up with him.

But, in reality, Marco wasn't that much older than Richard, just by a few years. Not that THEY knew that; heck Ricky didn't even know his own age. (He didn't know what a birthday was either, that thing just never mattered much to all of them. They didn't celebrate birthdays and their concept of age was slightly different than the rest of the worlds).

Honestly Ricky hated all of them treating him like a kid. He hated not having his tattoos yet and he hated the way everyone treated him like he couldn't do all the stuff they did. (That however, was less an age thing and more of a "you're not fully trained yet" thing). He was faster than most of them, and not to mention he was pretty quiet too! Well, okay, quiet when sneaking around. Otherwise he was kind of loud and obnoxious and yelled WAAAAY too much. Surprisingly, he was pretty far along the way of becoming a master thief himself.

And maybe that's what attracted Marco to him. Marco was a tall, slender boy who was pretty nervous and quiet most the time. (Not to mention he was a terrible thief, he had mastered the skill of archery instead). Yet Ricky managed to bring out the obnoxiousness in him as well. Together they spent most their time telling awful jokes and laughing too hard. Other times they would have serious conversations about their futures.

"You could do so much more." Marco would always say, a line he had picked up from some of the older people of the group. They all said it nearly everyday Ricky did anything.

"So could you." Ricky would snort back, never taking anything like that to heart after hearing it so much.

To Ricky, these thieves were his family, and maybe they weren't the best role models but they were something. And they all took care of each other, and that's more than Richard could ever want. No matter how many times they told him to go and do something else with his life Ricky would just snort and roll his eyes.

"We could leave you know." Marco said one day as they sat together on a rooftop.

"Yeah, and go where?" Ricky retorted with a disbelieving snort.

Marco shrugged, no real answer in mind. "Anywhere. Come on, neither of us have the mark. We could leave; we could do something better."

Ricky made a face at the other boy, quickly growing less amused with the subject. "Come on Marco, this is our family."

"Mmmmm..." Marco hummed back, just staring up at the setting sun as they both fell quiet.

Everyone thought Ricky could do better for himself, leave the guild and find some other people to take care of him. Live an honest life, do something less dangerous. But Ricky never even considered it because to him this was the only life he could ever want.

* * *

><p>Richard was learning how to be a master thief from what were considered some of the best. The best meaning they were known all around the surrounding cities, but only a very small handful had ever been caught. In fact, the number of those who had left or been arrested could be counted on two hands, a large feat for a group as large as they!<p>

Ricky had a lot of raw talent, for one he was fast. Very fast, maybe even a little too much. His speed made him cocky, and he had a tendency to make some things a lot more trouble than they really needed to be. For instance, sometimes he would attempt to anger rangers at their posts and attempt to get them to shoot their arrows at him. This was self explanatory in why exactly it was bad; and though no one had gotten killed by Richard's cockiness it was only a matter of time until one of them finally got lucky.

Richard also liked to pick pocket and steal things he never needed. When he had first started training, he had spotted a rich woman and her supposed husband. Something about her expensive bracelet must have really caught Ricky's attention, for he returned to his teacher with the bracelet in hand and the couple none the wiser.

To the older members this was just a dangerous nuisance; the result of a kid not taking his actions as seriously as he should. But, to the younger ones these were very cool tricks and they were all too eager to try and learn them. Richard loved it, the way they all looked at him with widened eyes and happy faces when he brought back a story or an item from one of his trips.

Ricky was honestly one of the best thieves in the High Five Fingers, and despite his age he was always sent with some of the most skilled and oldest on their raids. He looked up to them in awe like the others did to him, and he hoped one day he was as impressive as they were in everything they did. Not that he was bad, just that he wasn't...that good.

But he was much too boisterous about being a thief, at least to Marco. A lot of the people in the family WERE thieves, but not all. There was a few people who built the homes, and a few who were doctors.

And then there was the guards. Archers that were deadly in every way, quick to aim and quick to shoot. Marco was one of them, the youngest active ranger they had in the whole gang. He, like Ricky, was amazing in what he did. Most of the rest of the thieves were grateful and looked up to the members that kept them safe, but of course Richard wasn't like that. He wasn't like them at all.

"God, your job is boring." Ricky said, leaning over the edge of the wall next to Marco's perch.

"Richard shut up. I'm focusing." The younger boy snorted and made a face.

"At what? Sand?"

Marco sighed, setting his bow down and turning his attention to the other.

"Don't you have something else to do?"

"No." Ricky made a face. "Most the other guys went off to go get some food."

"Why didn't you go?" Marco asked, genuinely wondering. Ricky loved going into the city, and he loved stealing.

Ricky shrugged, still staring off at the distant buildings of the town on the other side of the desert land they called home. "They didn't ask me."

Marco moved from where he was standing, and stood by Ricky's side instead.

"Wanna go get some apples?" Marco offered.

The other boy just nodded his head and then broke into a sprint. "I'll race you there!"

* * *

><p>Ricky was about thirteen when he finally got the tattoos that symbolized him being part of the group forever. He was giddy the entire day. Even though Marco wasn't there when he got them he never stopped smiling because he finally felt he wasn't just 'that kid' anymore. He was finally one of them, and that's how they would see him from now on. An adult.<p>

Later the evening that Ricky had gotten the tattoos he met Marco on the usual rooftop with an abnormal swagger in his walk.

"What's up with you?" Marco greeted him with a laugh, amused to see the goofy grin on Ricky's face that showed off his crooked teeth.

"Oh nothing." He said with a certain tone in his voice that sounded more like "ask again because I am EXCITED".

"Oh, really?" Marco teased back at him instead of playing along , making it explicitly clear he wasn't going to act the way Ricky had wanted him to. "That's too bad I thought you had something great to say, you look really excited or something. Must just be me imagining things."

Quick to become too eager and impatient to continue the charade any longer, Richard practically began to bounce up and down as he shoved his arms towards Marco.  
>"Look at these!"<p>

The older boy stared down in awe at the others wrists. He knew that Ricky was going to get his tattoos soon, everyone had known and it was actually some of the most exciting news there for a few days, but he hadn't known it would be so soon. It felt weird not being able to see Ricky as a little kid anymore (Marco had gotten his tattoos some time before this, so now they were both considered adults in the group even though to anyone outside they would still be children).

"I'm proud."

Ricky snorted at that comment, gently slugging Marco in the arm. "Aw man, is that all you gotta say to me?"

Marco rolled his eyes and laughed, happy that even though they were getting older they were still just a pair of kids.

"It's not like you said anything super cool to me."

"Yeah well, that's because YOU'RE not super cool." Ricky taunted with a laugh, Marco chuckling and slugging him and gently punching him the way Ricky had done moments before.

"Wow, why do you have to be so mean to me?" Marco sighed in fake hurt, dramatically draping his arm over his forehead and tossing his head back with a sigh.

"Probably because you're a loser." He snickered.

"Wow okay, that's rude."

Ricky just laughed and said "sorry" as Marco began to tease him back as well.

Yeah, they may have had the tattoos of being adults now but they were definitely still just goofy boys.

* * *

><p>Ricky didn't know when he started looking at Marco in a different way other than 'best friend', as far as he knew he just woke up one day and the older boy's name made his throat dry and his heart beat faster. It was weird not being able to get too close to his best friend without turning as red as a tomato each time their skin brushed, or laughing too hard at something he said even if it wasn't funny. It was weird how he suddenly tried so much harder to get Marco to feel differently about him when everything used to come so natural.<p>

His dreams were even weirder. He was always dreaming of the two of them hanging out like normal, laughing and playing around. Then next thing he knew his eyes would be closed and they'd be leaning in closer and closer; but right as their lips brushed against one another's he would wake up. Nearly every night this would happen, and nearly everyday afterwards it'd be hard to look at Marco without thinking about what it would be like to kiss him.

It made things a little awkward, and it didn't take long for Marco to know something was up.

Finally one day, right after Marco asked if he was alright for the hundredth time, Ricky realized he couldn't handle it any longer.

"Is something wrong-" The taller boy was immediately cut off and completely surprised when Ricky smashed their lips together pretty clumsily with his eyes squeezed as tightly shut as possible. It was awkward for a combination of him having his eyes shut, and also it was both the boys first kiss.

When Ricky pulled back a moment later, his face was completely red and there was just silence.

With each passing second both boys felt the tension get thicker and thicker. Until, that is, Marco finally said something.

"Is that why you've been acting so weird?" He didn't sound angry, in fact he sounded like he had just discovered the biggest secret in the universe and everything was finally making sense. Which, in a way, wasn't entirely wrong.

"I'm sorry I don't know why I did that you're just so cool and pretty and I-"

"Did you just call me pretty?" Marco laughed. It wasn't a mean laugh, instead it was a "I can't believe you said that" laugh.

And pretty soon Ricky was laughing along with him, the embarrassment of the situation melting away effortlessly. This was how it was supposed to be, fun and stress-less.

Ricky always thought it would be weird dating his best friend, but instead it was surprisingly simple and easy, and he was happy to realize that not much had really changed changed. Now they just kissed and held hands, something they were both pretty sure was a great thing. No awkward behavior, just two friends that happened to be in a bit of a romantic relationship.

Everything was so close to the way it was before, they still talked about goofy things and met on the same rooftop everyday after they finished whatever it is they had to do (Marco usually just stood guard or acted as watch on raids, Ricky was out most of the day just stealing food). Though not a lot changed Ricky AND Marco both liked everything a whole lot more this way, finding they both agreed that dating fit their relationship a lot better than just being friends. It was weird considering they were both kinda young and boys; but Ricky seriously believed Marco was his soul-mate even if it did sound incredible cheesy.

And, the longer they were dating, the closer they got. That was probably a normal thing that happened, considering it sounded a little hard to start dating and not get to know each other better, but they both thought it was really cool how much they learned about the other.

Before long Ricky found himself sneaking to sleep with Marco. Not in a sexual way, the two of them just loved sharing a bed.

The first night however, was pretty dang awkward considering Ricky hadn't planned to do that in advance and just kind of... showed up.

"Ricky?" Marco had mumbled in tired and pretty shocked confusion as he felt the younger boy crawl under the blanket next to him.

"Yeah I-" Ricky paused for a moment, realizing just how weird it was that he had just literally snuck into his boyfriends bed at night without saying anything or giving any kind of warning. "I hope this is okay."

Marco yawned, then rolled over with a smile and eagerly wrapped an arm around Ricky's body.

"It's perfect."

After a few nights this became a regular thing, and every night Marco would just sit up in bed and wait for Ricky to sneak over so they could sleep. They found that it was pretty comforting just having the other one there at night, and it would certainly make things better if either had a nightmare. Plus, it was also great to have company for when they couldn't sleep. But, yet this didn't always work, as Marco found sometimes when he couldn't sleep Ricky would only hold a conversation for about a minute before passing out almost without warning. But, on the bright side to that, Marco learned Ricky snored like a monster and it was pretty hilarious.

All in all life was pretty good, and the only regret they both had was that they hadn't started dating sometime sooner.

* * *

><p>Marco and Ricky found that dating was kind of fun, and though they weren't the picture perfect couple they were still incredibly happy with everything.<p>

Like, for example, holding hands turned out to be a lot more fun than either of them had anticipated it being. Their first REAL kiss was just slightly less messy than their first had been, both boys still incredibly inexperienced. But just like holding hands they agreed it was a lot of fun.

One day, as they sat on one of the rooftops like they always did, Marco decided to bring up something he hadn't mentioned in almost a year.

"We could leave you know."

"I know."

"We should, we should just leave this place. We can go start a new life somewhere else. Together."

There was a moment of silence, and both boys just stared off into the sky and seemed to consider this.

"Alright." Richard finally responded, not turning to face Marco even after he looked over at the younger boy in surprise.

"I'm serious."

"So am I." Ricky said, finally turning to the other with a neutral expression on his face, indicating he wasn't joking at all.

Realizing that after all these years Ricky wasn't shooting down any mention of leaving, and was actually agreeing Marco could only help but smile a big goofy grin like Ricky was always wearing.

"I'd go anywhere with you." Ricky added on quickly.

This however, was apparently too cheesy for either of the boys to handle, because they both began to laugh obnoxiously. Marco wheezing out "Oh God I can't believe you said that" every few seconds.

Eventually they talked more and more of this idea, sharing dreams of a world in which they weren't thieves and just lived like everyone else. Even if they were poor it wouldn't matter because they would have each other Marco pointed out.

These ideas quickly went from dreams to reality as they made plans to leave the next week after they could get together everything they needed.

"Thank you." Marco had whispered one night as they prepared some things early for their departure.

Ricky just smiled at the other, kissing him on the cheek. "Like I said, I'd go anywhere with you."

And, as embarrassingly enough, the next thing that came out of Marco's mouth was a first for both of them. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>Ricky and Marco spent every second possible together during the next few days. When Ricky was out stealing things with most the thieves he would take just a little bit extra each time just for himself and Marco. None of the gang asked any questions about this, because of course it never really hurt to have more. Plus they only ever stole from the rich so it's not like they'd miss one little extra apple or something.<p>

One particular day, which would be about 3 days before Marco and Ricky had planned to leave, Richard noticed a beautiful and fancy necklace in the bedroom of some young rich aristocratic woman. He knew that it wouldn't be smart to take it, but it was just so pretty. He chewed on his lip with uneven teeth as he thought about the consequences of taking it.

On one hand, even if the thieves wouldn't make him leave it they wouldn't be very happy to find Ricky had taken something so silly. But, on the other hand, he WAS kind of always looking for things to give to Marco.

Deciding that it wasn't such a big deal after all Ricky swiped the necklace off from its place on a table and pocketed it before running out of the house to catch up with everyone else.

When he gave it to Marco later he wasn't sure what to expect, but happy laughter and him actually putting it on was definitely near the bottom of what he imagined.

"Thank you."

Ricky smiled a goofy and toothy grin. "You don't think it's totally stupid?"

"Oh no, I do." Marco said with a laugh. "But it's sweet too, so I'll keep it."

Richard pulled Marco into a close hug with a excited noise, glad that he seemed to like it a little.

"Promise you'll keep it on then?"

"Of course." Marco agreed, and even if this whole thing was super mushy and sappy he really did kind of like it. Though he was sure the two of them were about to begin puking sugar or something else to that effect.

"Good. So, what'd you do all day besides being lame?"

Marco rolled his eyes at Ricky's poor excuse for a witty joke, but otherwise ignored it. "I was getting ready for when we leave."

"Oh." Ricky knew he should have expected that, it had been what Marco was doing and talking about nearly everyday. Ricky felt pretty guilty for it, but he was nervous every time he thought about leaving. Richard had been born into the High Five Fingers, his mother had been apart of it up until she died shortly after giving birth to him. This gang was all he had ever known, but Marco...

Marco had been an orphan, and just lived on the streets for about 4 or so years until one of the thieves found him and brought him back. He remembered what it was like living outside of the gang, and though he was thankful for all they had done for him at the same time he knew he could make it outside of a life of crime as well and that's just what he wanted to do. Not being born into the gang made Marco look at it differently than Ricky. Yes; they had saved his life but he wanted more than to just be an outcast from normal living.

Even though the boys didn't see eye to eye, they would do anything for the other one. If things had been different and Ricky would have said no they both would have just stayed.

But, since Ricky couldn't make himself say no to Marco's happiness, they were going to leave.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have a different idea in mind for them.

The day before they had planned to leave, something big happened. The whole gang of them had been tricked into a trap that ended with every last member getting caught and arrested.

Ricky was terrified, he was still a child even if he didn't want to be seen as one. But Marco stayed by his side the whole time, holding his hand and telling him they were going to be okay and this type of thing would be no problem for them to escape.

So, when they were being moved, Ricky didn't even question Marco telling him to run.

He didn't question Marco grabbing his hand and whispering "You have to run" as Marco placed the the gift necklace into his palm.

He didn't question any of it, so he ran, as fast as he could, away from all the guards and everyone else. At some point someone must have caught him for a split second because when he finally stopped running he realized he had a long wound across his side from one of the swords. It was bleeding profusely, but Ricky couldn't even feel it over the excitement and adrenaline and just plain joy.

"Marco- we made it." He panted as he turned around, realizing that no, they hadn't made it.

He was alone, and none of the others had managed to follow him.

Or maybe they hadn't even tried.

Ricky, too tired to continue now with his now incredibly lowered spirits, breathed heavily and leaned against the wall of a dark building and held his side. It was bleeding way too much to be good, and he wasn't sure how deep it was. All he knew was he was scared, fucking terrified. He had no idea where he was, and his vision going blurry from tears wasn't helping the situation at all.

He slid down the wall shakily, looking down at his red-stained hands as he shakily pulled the necklace out. With each passing second he seemed to be getting weaker and weaker and he was scared.

His grip tightened on the now dirtied metal and gold of the chain, and he clenched his teeth in pain and fear.

Ricky had seen death before. He had watched people he knew die, people he didn't know. He had seen it more than once, but that made it scarier. He didn't know why he feared it so much, years ago he remembered Marco saying that dead people didn't have to deal with awful things and that he was kind of jealous. But Richard was never like that, not really. He was afraid of dying and he was scared that he was going to be alone when it happened.

Hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind as he just wheezed out ragged breaths. He thought of how maybe if he didn't run he'd be okay right now. Maybe the High Five Fingers were fine, maybe all they would get was a little jail time (unlikely) or maybe he and Marco would even be spared because of their ages (not that either of them knew exactly what those ages were).

Ricky had never felt this much pain before, and most of it wasn't from the wound on his side but from the regret he now had because of how stupid he was to run away from his family.

He tossed his head back with squeezed shut eyes and a whimper of pain, smacking his skull on the wall behind him fairly hard but he didn't seem bothered by it near as much as he should have been.

Richard continued to let out soft pathetic whimpers and noises as he blacked out, just right after hearing heavy footsteps coming his way.

* * *

><p>The High Five Fingers consisted of about 40 men and women, most of them were relatively young in the sense that they remained fast and fit. This lead to quite a few of them thinking that they could escape, and with each attempt the number of thieves was reduced and the number of their corpses quickly grew.<p>

Marco watched time after time as one of them tried to leave, only to return in the same day as a corpse. He was convinced the guards sneering at them and throwing dead bodies into their already tight cells were just messing with them, a cruel joke he didn't even try to understand.

Originally they had been separated into three cells, thirteen in two of them and twelve in the third. It didn't take long to realize they had been separated into boys girls and a third group of the youngest members. Marco of course had been put in with the rest of the 'kids', a group that had been the first to reach singular digits due to how confident and scared they were. That was a deadly combo, thinking you had a chance to leave and trying because you were too afraid to stay.

At first Marco was bitter that Ricky had been the only one to get away, but that bitter jealousy faded quickly as he realized how awful and selfish it was of him even wishing for a second that Ricky was with him. It made him even more bitter but, yet when the first few days of captivity was filled with both the guards and members of the thieves themselves whispering about how there was no way little Richard could have survived a wound like that. Part of Marco foolishly hoped that maybe Ricky HAD survived, but the other part hoped that maybe he had died. Not because he was mad or anything like that, but because those wounds combined with being alone would not be anything positive for him. Plus he was probably in danger of being arrested like they had.

It helped Marco pass time imagining all the things that could have happened to Ricky after he ran away, because Ricky had a chance. A chance to live and do something for himself.

All the High Five Fingers members knew that what awaited them was certain death. Their 'family' had been wanted for months already, and now that they had finally been caught there was not a single chance that their trials would result in any sentence other than a death one.

Maybe the ones that had run hadn't been so foolish after all; because death awaited them either way. Maybe it was more comforting to imagine that they had some kind of say in it.

Marco wished he had the courage to do the same, but he knew he wouldn't even try to run.

* * *

><p>They hadn't been held there for long, soon the guild found themselves being rushed out 5 at a time to the gallows, each getting hung with no mercy.<p>

Marco sat on the dirty floor of his shared cell, his face buried into his knees as he tried to remain calm. He was going to die, there was no doubt in his mind about that. They were going to grab him and rush him into the city and hang him in-front of a crowd that just cheered at people _dying. _But, Marco quickly realized, maybe they weren't people. He swallowed hard as he heard the next group get taken out.

Rats. That's what they were- pests that plagued the city and spread ruin and disease. They weren't people at all, just vermin that deserved to die.

Marco shook, feeling hot angry tears well up in his eyes. He didn't believe a word of what he was telling himself, there was no way he wasn't just as important as the people out there. He was a person with feelings and he _cared _and Richard did too.

Marco stopped, a sickening feeling rise in his throat. _Had. _He corrected, Richard _had_ feelings. There was no way the other could have made it out alive, and there was no use for Marco to try and pretend the love of his life had lived. Dying was probably best anyway, this world had no feelings of compassion to them. It didn't matter Richard and Marco were children, it didn't matter the High Five Fingers only took the extra that some people didn't need- they didn't care. All any of these people wanted was to see them die. To the commoners, they didn't matter. They were rats.

Marco jolted up as he heard the door to his cell open, and the guards took the five people that he had been sharing it with. The guard holding the metal door open smiled at Marco, the last one left.

"Looks like you're last, you get to be the center of attention." The man laughed, closing the door with a loud thud.

Marco closed his eyes, leaning his head back on his knees.

Oh well, he thought. At least he could see Richard again soon.


	2. Monty

Richard woke up in an unfamiliar room staring up at a strange place unlike anything he had never seen before in his life. The first thing he did when he awoke was jolt up and immediately grab at the metal necklace around his neck, relieved to find it was still there. Considerably calmed down he laid back down again, and he began to fully inspect the room. He looked towards the ceiling, it was clean and the visible wooden beams seemed to practically sparkle. The bed he was in was soft and huge, another luxury he had only seen in houses of rich people. He sat up again in confusion, surprised when he realized it didn't hurt him in the slightest. He remembered getting hurt by a guard as he ran away, but that was about all he had remembered. Maybe it had just been some strange dream. But a dream wouldn't explain this strange house or why he was shirtless with cloth wrapped around his waist as if it were being used as bandage for a wound he didn't even feel.

Finally deciding that the curiosity was too much, Ricky carefully began to unwrap himself before-

"Curious one aren't we?" Ricky jumped in slight surprise as he looked up, seeing a man in strange clothes with a brown goatee and mustache combo standing in the doorway to his right. "You needn't worry about the injury on your side, I fixed it up perfectly. It's almost like it did not even happen at all."

Puzzled by this, Ricky quickly went back to unwrapping the bandage to reveal that- just as promised- his side was free from any abnormal mark or scratch. Maybe this was the dream and he had fallen asleep after getting hurt!

"Now, I know what you must be thinking. But don't worry, I will explain everything soon. But first, are you hungry?"

Ricky stayed silent for a moment, seeming to consider the offer before answering with a very simply "yes".

The stranger nodded, motioning for Ricky to follow him out of the room. Hesitating a moment, still unsure about if he could really do anything without pain from the now non-existent wound, Ricky carefully moved out of bed. It was pretty obvious he was worried about his side, and the man laughed at this, as he found it quite amusing that even though Ricky had seen that the cut was gone he still acted like it was there.

"Come on now, we haven't got all day." The man said, grabbing Ricky by the wrist and gently pulling him along into a large room with a dirty floor and wooden table.

Ricky thought it was strange that someone who was most likely a _noble _could deal with a wobbly chair like the one he had just sat in. Actually, even the stuff at the old thieves hideout was in better condition than most the stuff he saw in this room.

"Who are you?" Richard finally asked as the strange man came back into the room with a plate of food.

"There are some who call me...Monty." Ricky just stared up at the man with a blank expression, not sure if that was some weird joke or what.

Monty, catching on to the awkwardness of the young boy, just laughed and told him to eat something.

For the first time since he had woken up Ricky didn't pause to think of that the other had said, and just immediately began to stuff his face with the food that had been placed in front of him. He was starving, though that wasn't exactly a new feeling for him. Monty just stood by and watched Ricky eat in silence, deciding to wait until he was done scarfing down food before trying to talk to him.

Before long Ricky's attention had moved from the now empty plate to the man sitting on the edge of the table.

"What happened?" The boy asked, already prepared to begin his barrage of questions.

"I simply saved your life." Monty readjusted himself and was now closer to Ricky. Ricky made an un-amused face at this answer, scrunching up his nose in a look that was close to disgust.

"Yeah, I know that. But how?"

Monty laughed which earned him another unhappy reaction from Ricky. All his laughing was getting old quickly, and the boy just wanted some answers. He narrowed his eyes at the older man, and Monty smiled kindly.

"I'm a sorcerer." He stated simply before he leaned forward. "But you...you're just a boy. What were you doing with a wound like that?"

Ricky seethed. "I'm not just a kid you know." This statement caused Monty to laugh once again, only further enraging the small boy. "I'm not!"

Monty nodded, still amused. "I believe it." He paused, pointing to the mark visible on Ricky's wrist. "You're a member of the high Five Fingers."

"Yeah?"

"They were all arrested yesterday. You must have been hurt running from the guards, correct?"

Richard paused, staring at the man before nodding slowly.

"You must cover that mark up, you're a fugitive." Monty said firmly as he stood, walking over to a cabinet and retrieving a roll of bandages.

"No!" Ricky practically screeched as he shot up from his chair, holding his arms closer to his body protectively. "I won't!"

There was silence in the room, Monty just standing there quietly with the bandages in hand as Ricky stared at him like a trapped animal. And then Ricky continued.

"They're my family... I can't just cover that up."

Monty's face softened, and he smiled at the young boy. "I'm sure they'd understand. It's for your own safety, Richard."

"How do you know my name?"

"That is of no importance." Monty laughed, walking over and putting the bandages into Ricky's hand. "For now, let's worry about keeping you safe. You can't stay here forever you know, that is my bed you were sleeping in."

Richard left the house two days later, a small bag of food on his back and bandages on his arms. Monty wished him luck as he left, and God knew he was going to need it.


	3. The Aquabats

Shortly after leaving Monty's home Ricky realized he had no where to go and no ideas of what to do. All of his life had been spent in the desert with the High Five Fingers, and now that he was alone he realized just how clueless he was about..well, everything that wasn't stealing. And speaking of stealing, he couldn't do that either. The gang had had a very strict 'steal only from the rich' promise among them, and now that he was wanted it for doing just that it seemed like a very dumb idea to go anywhere near noble land because of the chance of being discovered.

All in all, Richard had absolutely no clue what to do at this point. Returning to the place he called home would lead to nothing but deserted homes, and wandering around sounded dangerous and foolish. For the first time since his birth he realized he was truly alone and there was nothing he could do about it.

Ricky had decided that his best bet was to avoid civilization, just as the High Five Fingers had done before, so that was what he did. He had run straight for nearby woods as soon as he realized how great of an idea that sounded.

'Great idea' didn't seem like the term to use now that he was there and had finished the last of the small amount of food he had from Monty days after leaving. Even worse he realized that even if he DID want to leave, he was too lost in the dense forest to do much about that. All in all he was regretting the decision as he sat hungry in a tree, hoping that he'd be lucky enough to be able to catch some animal and eat it.

After his third failed attempt at trying to catch a rabbit, he was never proficient in the skill of hunting, Richard began to realize how hopeless his efforts truly were.

He quietly decided that this must be the end for him, doomed to starve in a forest as an outlaw. His eyes began to water slightly, stinging him as he cried bitter tears. How awful it was to be him, having escaped the hands of death not once but twice; only to die later from his own mistakes. It seemed fitting of course that he would ultimately be the reason for his own demise, he never did think things through. But it wasn't _fair_, he was just a child.

Apparently, if there was a God, it agreed that this would have been an awful fate as Richard realized he heard people. Careful to make sure he was hidden in leaves, he peaked down and saw a group of three men with large bags laughing and walking through the forest below. One of them pointed ahead, and Ricky was able to hear enough to know they planned to set up camp just a while away.

He smiled, and even if it was against everything he'd ever been taught Ricky was planning on robbing them. Not of everything, just of enough food to last him long enough to find a way out of this dumb forest.

And maybe he planned on taking their map as well. Just to help.

* * *

><p>When night fell and Ricky believe that the strange group was asleep, he sneaked out of the tree and over to where they had their belongings. He snickered, realizing that all their bags just sat unprotected feet away from where the men slept, everything just leaning against a tree and practically begging to be taken. Ricky's stomach growled at the thought of how close he was to food, and he only felt a little bad about the whole thing. He had never stolen from anyone not loaded with things, but this was for his own survival. He hoped the other thieves wouldn't be too mad if they were to somehow find out about this. Ricky carefully made it steps away from the groups things, smiling to himself at how easy this was going to be. They didn't even bother putting up any protection! He thought with a silent chuckle.<p>

By the time he was actually side by side to his goal, he realized his awful mistake.

A rope tightened around his ankle, pulling him up into the air and hanging him there upside down from a tree branch. The large man of the group was startled at the shrill shriek Ricky had let out as he was tugged off the ground, and the stranger yelled at the rest of his group.

"Commander! James! There's someone by our bags!" He shouted at the other sleeping men, who were also awoken with a start from the yelling.

"What?" Was the first thing to come from the mouth of the man to the left of the original speaker, a chubby guy with an obviously fake mustache on his face.

"Did he get anything?" Came a voice from the right, a taller but also chubby man.

"I don't think so." The large man said as he began approaching the tree Ricky was suspended from, the rogue hissing at him and trying to flail out of the ropes hold.

"Let me go!" Ricky screeched, his breathing frantic and his movements still sporadic. He was obviously frightened, and trying to act tough about it like he wasn't.

The man with the fake mustache and the third man were still over by the place they had been sleeping, they seemed to be discussing what was going on in pretty frantic whispers just barely too quiet for Ricky to hear. Once that was finished the two of them jogged up to their bags and the thief who hard tried to steal them.

"It's just a kid." The man with the wooden arms said quietly to himself, sounding confused and slightly...concerned?

"What are we going to do with him, Commander?"

"Well first, lets get him down...Crash, can you tie him to the tree instead?" The man with the fake mustache said, pointing to the tree Ricky was hanging from.

The large man, Crash, nodded his head.

"James, that means you need to lower the rope and the kid." The Commander instructed, taking a step away from the whole thing as James moved forward to do as he was told.

Crash and James managed to get the still screaming and kicking Ricky down from the air and tied him to the trunk of the tree instead. Now not able to move much, Richard just squirmed against the binds, desperate for escape and afraid of what would happen to him if he couldn't get away.

The Commander stepped forward once more, obviously a bit sympathetic towards the thief that had tried to take their belongings. He was making a ridiculous face, which Ricky would later come to realize he always does whether its intentional or not.

"Why were you trying to steal our stuff?"

Ricky looked down, stopping his erratic wiggling. "I..." He muttered quietly, ashamed of his actions.

"Well?" James put his hands on his hips, making a face of stern disapproval. He was less than amused with this situation, and was more than ready to hear some kind of explanation.

"I got lost in the woods..." Ricky began. He decided that the truth was his best option to get out of this, he just hoped that maybe these people were sympathetic. "And I haven't eaten anything in days..." At this James expression softened, he had always had a sort of weak spot for kids.

"Commander, we should give him some food..." James said softly, turning his face to the other man.

"I have a better idea!" The Commander responded with a goofy grin, finger going up in the air as if to emphasis that statement. "How would you like to join our super awesome group of vigilantes?"

"Commander!" James shrieked at that statement, he had wanted to take pity on the boy, but that seemed a bit much even for him.

"I don't know about that..." Crash agreed in a quiet mumble, leaning closer to the mustached leader of the troupe.

"No, it's a great idea trust me."

"Uh..." Richard said quietly, becoming uncomfortable by not only being tied to a tree but also because of the scene quickly unfolding in front of him.

"So, little guy what do you say? Want to join the Aquabats? Even if you say no that's fine, just as long as you sit here and eat with us." The Commander was smiling warmly, incredibly inviting even if he looked kind of dorky. "So, can you behave good enough for Crash yo untie you?"

Ricky just stared at the three men in silence for a moment, then nodded in response to the second question. He wasn't so sure he wanted to hang out with these weirdos; but he did need food. The Commander signaled for the large man to untie Richard.

Crash did as instructed, and the first thing the rogue did was take an instinctive step back away from the men. James looked more concerned than the other two, a look of worry plastered across his face. The Commander still looked proud and smug of his decision, and Crash... Crash looked more or less in awe for some reason but who knows why.

"C'mon." The Commander waved with a smile, turning and walking with a dramatic hand pointing back over to where they had been sleeping before. James cast another worried look over shoulder, but didn't say anything. Crash, who still seemed a little nervous about the young boy, quickly jogged to catch up with them.

Ricky hesitated a moment, looking at the forest behind him and considered running. Knowing that running away would be a stupid idea, he slowly made his way over to the others. He would just get food and then leave. Yeah, that was a good idea. He didn't need anything other than food.

"Sit sit sit sit." The Commander instructed to Richard with a smile, patting the ground beside him excitedly. Again Ricky hesitated and then slowly made his way over there and sat down, making it painfully obvious he was leaning away from the stranger as much as possible.

"Don't be afraid." James said from the other side of the fire they had gathered around. He was smiling gently, trying to make Richard feel more comfortable, but it wasn't exactly working.

"Hey so what's your name? I'm Crash." The man to his right said pretty happily.

"I'm Richard." The boy paused and made a face. "Crash?"

"Yeah," The Commander said butting in. "that's what I call him. It kind of stuck." Crash nodded as affirmation.

"I'm James." The other male introduced, still smiling as warmly as possible.

"And I," The (fake) mustached man stood up. "am the Commander! Fearless leader of the Aquabats, protector of the innocent and keeper of justice!" He sat back down. "Nice right?"

"Yeah..." Ricky mumbled.

"You don't talk much do you kid?" Ricky's eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond.

"Anyway," James quickly interjected, noticing that the boy was obviously not pleased. "we should eat."

"Yeah, food!" Crash cheered happily, always excited when they ate. It was just a weird habit he had after coming from a poor, small village.

The Commander agreed, and they all got some fish that had been cooked earlier. Richard didn't find it to be the best tasting food in the world, but at least it was something.

After the meal everyone went back to sleep, apparently trusting Ricky enough to not try and steal from them again.

Honestly the boy had thought about it, wondered if he could take their bags now and slip into the night unnoticed, but of course he didn't. He didn't because these men had been _nice _to him, and he wasn't a soulless monster that was okay with stealing from everyone. Besides, why would he want to steal from them if he could just...stay with them. He had put enough thought into it and, honestly, it wasn't that bad of a deal. Sure they were all... kinda weird, but it's not like Richard was exactly used to surviving alone.

Ricky adjusted himself on the dirt he had claimed as his spot, the group not having an extra blanket and Ricky not taking one of theirs. He settled down, hoping he wouldn't regret agreeing to travel with them in the morning.

* * *

><p>Ricky wasn't sure why he was surprised to be the first awake, maybe he had just figured these guys might have had some kinda 'early rise to travel more' schedule. Then again, even back with the High Five Fingers Richard had usually woken up early by their standards (And that was saying something, most of the gang woke up around six!)<p>

He got up and stretched, kind of grossed out with how dirty he had gotten from sleeping on the forest floor. He quietly tiptoed over to their bags, plopping down and opening them one by one and snooping through their belongings.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ricky jumped at the voice, startled and afraid of what the man would say if he thought he had caught the boy stealing. He quickly turned around, realizing the voice had come from James.

"I- uhm," Richard stumbled for words, watching as the mans eyes narrowed at him. "hungry?" He smiled sheepishly, earning a sigh from James.

"We usually make breakfast when everyone wakes up. Can you wait until then?" Ricky nodded much too quickly, scampering back over near the men.

The rogue didn't really know what the men would and wouldn't allow, and he didn't want to be kicked out so early. What if they turned him into the police? He didn't want to take those chances, so he thought it'd be best to stay on his best behavior from there on out.

And that's exactly what he did, played good behavior. He tried his best to avoid trouble, and to not get on anyones bad side as time went on. It was hard at first, Ricky wasn't used to them so he had no idea what the rules were. Plus, back when he had lived with the thieves, everything had been so much...different.

Like how was he supposed to know James wouldn't tolerate pick-pocketing, or that they had certain times they were all supposed to eat together. Richard thought most the situation was kind of annoying, but he could deal with it well enough.

The only time he really couldn't stand was them calling him a child. It was mainly James, always acting like Ricky was only a little boy. He had actually grown used to the Commander calling him 'kid' but it still kind of rubbed him the wrong way. Most the time he could handle it, just playful teasing that only bothered him sometimes, but he did have...kind of a short temper.

* * *

><p>Ricky quickly realized that these men he had found himself traveling with were also fugitives from the law, but for a more...noble cause. They were vigilantes, the three men each explained how they thought the people in charge were doing an awful job of protecting the peasants and they all wanted to do something about it. Even more surprising, was when they told him how they traveled. Disguised as a group of travelling musicians. Ricky decided quickly that his instrument of choice for the act would be drums, and the best part was the drumsticks.<p>

James turned out to be a very skilled blacksmith, and each of their 'instruments' had a hidden weapon. Well sort of, Crash much rather preferred to use...a fish... and the Commander didn't have a weapon; and instead had a hidden sword in his cane. Richard was very excited when James handed him a pair of seemingly normal drumsticks, which were actually anything but. Upon twisting the end of the stick, each one had a dagger inside. Richard was more than pleased with them, having always used a set of dual daggers this was more than perfect.

"Thank you!" He had bounced excitedly after James had given them to him. The boy was happy enough he could almost hug the man. (He didn't of course, they still weren't on particularly good terms)

James just smiled down at him with a 'of course.'

It was with this gift that Richard came to the realization that these men weren't planning on getting rid of him anytime soon.


	4. James

It seemed that when Ricky joined the group, James was the one least pleased with it.

James was a practical man, and he seemed to be the only real voice of reason in the group of the men. He had been the one that was the most disapproving of the Commander inviting Richard to travel with them. James seemed more than uneasy about the boy's presence, and always kept an eye on him at all times. Honestly, he was the only one that seemed to know Ricky would end up being trouble.

Ricky was still pretty cold towards the group, and it was obvious he was trying his hardest to remain distant. James kept silent about this, as he knew that Crash and the Commander probably weren't keen enough to pick up on it. This forced coldness was enough to make the blacksmith wonder about this new addition to the group. Most of the boys actions raised lots of questions, like why did he seem so freaked to pass near anything that looked like nobles were involved? And why did he WANT to keep away from everyone when he so obviously didn't want to.

The biggest question he had, was what had happened to the boy's arms. James wondered if he had been injured, or if the bandages were just there. This kid raised a lot more questions than answers, and the man was bothered by it.

James liked to consider himself a scholar, a man who liked to know most everything. He was the one everyone turned to when they needed answers; and he liked it that way. So, having someone like Ricky who he just couldn't figure out, was more than unpleasant.

"Jimmy, buddy, don't worry about it. The kid will come around soon." The Commander had reassured him one night after Ricky had gone to bed.

James made an displeased face, turning his head over to the Commander on the other side of the dim fire. Crash was usually the first to fall asleep, and Richard was always soon to follow shortly after. James and the Commander knew that this was practically the only time the two of them could talk, so that's what they did. This however wasn't always the case, as the Commander was a childish man and sometimes would be the first to go to bed and wouldn't hesitate to complain if someone so much as breathed above the volume of a whisper.

"Yes, but" His eyes flickered over to the sleeping boy only a few feet away. "when?"

"It'll be fine." Following James' gaze the Commander laughed, just loud enough to warrant a 'sh' from the other man. "Don't worry about it."

James grumbled, laying down. "I hope so."

* * *

><p>It was hard dealing with Ricky most days, he was an angry and rash child. James had practically taken up job of trying to 'parent' him, but nothing seemed to work.<p>

No matter how many times he scolded Richard, nothing worked. It always ended with James being infuriated and Ricky just kind of giggling to himself.

"YOU KNOW," James practically screeched one day after Ricky had taken another thing from one of their bags, something that was practically a daily occurrence at this point. "I AM SO SICK OF THE WAY YOU ACT."

"Oh?" Ricky sneered back, the short boy standing up from where he had been lounging on the ground. Crash had practically run from the scene when he saw how _mad _James was, and the Commander was standing back and watching the scene unfold rather uncomfortably. "What are you going to do? _Lecture me?_"

Suddenly, James was right in front of Ricky. No one even had time to comprehend what had happened in between him getting there, and the loud noise of an obvious smack.

There was complete stunned silence from all three of them, Ricky holding his face in obvious shock and hurt as he looked up at the quickly calming down James.

"I-" The blacksmith suddenly choked out, realizing what he had done and all rage deflating from him immediately. He raised an arm, and Richard backed up like a startled animal. His eyes were wide, hand still plastered to his cheek where he had been slapped.

James could barely take a step forward before the boy shot off like a bullet, running away as fast as possible and disappearing into the nearby wood in only a moments time. James, obviously still in shock and regret, turned his head over to the Commander and just stared at him with a slack jaw.

"R-Richard!" The Commander called out after the boy, but he was already long gone.

They both stood there silently. The mustached man just looked over to James and shook his head, causing the latter to look down at the dirt in complete shame because of how he had acted.

Crash dashed up moments later, panting and leaning on his knees for support as he came to a stop. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

><p>They hadn't told Crash what had happened until they had already been searching for about thirty minutes. James was obviously still quietly beating himself up for the mistake, and Commander was feeling a little uncomfortable about having to say what happened.<p>

"Oh man..." Crash mumbled after everything had been retold to him, glancing over to James with a pained expression on his face.

"It was an accident." The blacksmith mumbled quietly, frowning deeply at himself for letting that happen. James had always liked to think he was a bit more...in control of his emotions than the other two, and while that was still true it was evident he didn't have as much control as he would have liked to think. Before now Crash had always been the one to lose his temper and do rash things, and it was a little more than uncomfortable and strange to see the same thing happen to their always level-headed James.

"Maybe...this was a mistake." Crash said quietly, looking over to the Commander.

"Wh-" The man in front stopped, turning on his heels quickly and faced the other two men as they nearly ran into him. "We're the Aquabats. We help people in need, and if that kid isn't in need; I don't know who is."

They all stood there, just looking at the Commander's stern face. That was that conversation, he obviously had his mind set on keeping the boy around.

"I agree." James interjected suddenly as everyone looked about ready to move. "If anyone can help him it'd be us."

The Commander smiled wide, throwing an arm around the man who had just spoke."There you go, Jimmy baby!"

"Please don't call me that."

And with that, the kept moving. Even as the sun began to set they continued looking and calling out for Richard. As it got darker and darker a terrible gnawing feeling at the back of his throat saying they'd never be able to find him; the boy was much faster than any of them were and he was also incredibly sneaky. If Richard didn't want to be found they would most certainly never find him.

It had been hours wasted trudging through the woods with no real success, and everyone was getting tired. The Commander continued to try and encourage everyone, but it was fairly obvious that even he was getting exhausted. No one really wanted to give up, yet they all knew that they couldn't keep this up and were going to have to.

Defeated and spirits low, the three men traveled back to the place they had set up camp. A quiet air of uncomfortable and unpleasant depression seemed to loom over their heads as they realized that this meant they would probably not see Richard again. James quietly stared at the ground above his shoes, knowing full well that it was all his fault that any of this had happened in the first place.

The trip back was filled with silence as they all came to terms with the fact they had practically just given up on finding Ricky. Even if Crash had acted like it wasn't a smart idea they kept the boy around, even he felt saddened that the possibility they wouldn't see him again loomed over his head.

The Commander however, seemed to be the most upset. Not only had he been the one to say that, hey he should hang with us, he was also the only one so far Richard had KIND OF warmed up to (that meaning when they walked he stood closest to the mustached man and liked being near his side rather than anyone else's).

Maybe that's why when Crash looked up and said "THERE HE IS" the Commander was the first one who's head shot up to look in record time.

"Richard!" The (fake) mustached man called as he realized that, yeah, there the boy was; poking at a fire with obvious disinterest.

Just as it had happened before, no one really had time to react to James breaking into a sprint and running towards the boy. However, at least this time around there was no slapping.

It took Richard's brain a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. He sat there in shock as he realized that James was...hugging him? And was he...crying?

"I'm so sorry." The man repeated over and over, into Ricky's shoulder as he rocked them both back and forth. Crash and the Commander seemed about as shocked and confused as the rogue was at this display, both men standing there with a slack jaw as they quietly looked over at one another from time to time.

"Okay." Richard grunted, scrunching up his nose and beginning to push at the larger man's chest trying to peel him off. "Okay. You can stop."

James continued holding him for about thirty seconds longer than was necessary, then he finally let go.

"I'll never do something like that again, I lost my temper. I'm so sorry." The man gushed out before grabbing Richard for a second time.

Crash and the Commander exchanged looks with each other, still not having moved since James had grabbed the boy. They were both snickering quietly behind their hands.

No matter how many times Richard pleaded with the other two to help him, or asked James to get off, the man seemed to stay more firmly attached to him than a leach.

* * *

><p>It would be easy to lie and say that since then, Richard and James had begun to see more...eye to eye. That, however, was as far from the truth as possible. If anything Ricky seemed a little bit more wary of the blacksmith afterwards, and kept even more distance. James didn't acknowledge this and continued on as normal, not feeling the one sided tension from the boy.<p>

Normally James would be incredibly perceptive to other's emotions, but for some reason he never seemed to detect almost anything that Richard felt. It was okay, not like the rogue had opened up to any of them enough for them to outright tell when something was wrong with him (he always seemed pretty fussy and upset as far as they could tell). They just kind of always assumed the boy was fine, because that's all they really could do. Even if Ricky had been traveling with them for roughly a month or two, they didn't know much about him. All they really knew was his name and that he had been a thief.

None of them could have guessed what had happened to him before he had joined them. So, one night while everyone else seemed to be sleeping, James was surprised to wake up to the sound of...someone crying?

The blacksmith moved to a sitting position. He squinted a moment and tried to adjust to the darkness to find out exactly what was going on, but to no avail. It was pretty obvious the noise was coming from Richard; and it was also pretty obvious that the noise was a sob. But why would the normally hard-shelled rogue be up so late _crying? _

"Richard?" James tried calling, surprised to find the noise came to a very sudden and abrupt stop, followed by quiet sounds of Ricky rubbing his face.

"What?" Came the pretty obviously disgruntled reply. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Shouldn't you?" James responded with no hesitation. Ricky scrunched up his nose, invisible to anyone else in the night. He knew the man was sassy; so he probably should have seen something like that coming.

"Yeah." The boy muttered to himself, pulling his legs closer to his chest and looking at the ground. "Can't sleep..." He said just a little bit louder.

James was curious if the boy was alright, but he knew better than to go near him and find out. Richard was a bit like a cat, fickle and usually not happy to have someone initiate contact with him.

There was a pause, the only noise was the quiet sniffles Ricky was trying to hide.

"...Are you okay?" James finally asked, just staring in the area the sound seemed to be coming from. His eyes still hadn't entirely adjusted to the dark forest yet, but they were slowly getting there. Very slowly.

Ricky paused, stopping what he was doing rather abruptly, and made a strange face. It felt...weird having James show any concern for him. The man had done it before, a lot actually, but it still felt weird. Richard had tried distancing himself from the three men as much as possible, but it was pretty obvious they weren't trying to do the same. The boy just kind of wasn't used tot this level of concern, things had honestly been pretty different back in the desert he used to call home. Maybe that difference had something to do with the fact that since they didn't all sleep in the same place they never heard him upset. Then again, he wasn't upset very often back then either... it was kind of weird how things changed.

"I'm fine." Came his response after a much too long silence to seem convincing. Plus the response came out a bit more...bitter than he had initially intended.

James didn't respond, and just raised an eyebrow. The Commander always insisted that he give Richard space, and not to pry when the boy didn't want to talk. He wondered if the rule still applied now. Deciding against saying anything else in fear of bothering the boy any further, James just held his tongue and carefully moved back to lay down once more.

"Alright. Goodnight." He said as he closed his eyes, never hearing anything come back from the boy a few feet away from him.

It took about five minutes for the sounds of quieter sobs to start back up, and though James wanted to help the other he didn't dare speak up and eventually just fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, James chose to never bring the incident up or act like it had even happened. Ricky was quietly very thankful about that since he was more than well aware James knew about what had happened.

While they were walking Richard slowed down enough to walk side by side with the blacksmith, something he rarely ever did.

"Thanks..." The rogue said uncomfortably after being by his side for a while in silence. James just looked down at him and smiled softly.

"Anytime." The man said, and Ricky couldn't help but smile back just a bit as well.

* * *

><p>It seemed after that night Richard was just a little more trusting of the blacksmith, and no longer avoided him at all costs. It wasn't like they were best friends or anything, everything was just a little more...comfortable. Richard still preferred staying by the Commander more though.<p>

Most of the trips through towns were rather uneventful, they'd go in, buy things, maybe talk to a handful of people and then leave. It was a pretty common thing, they did it often enough and nothing fantastic usually happened. Most the time everyone didn't even go; James seemed to venture into many of the towns by himself. Crash had a bad habit of spending money on things they didn't need, and the Commander was guilty of the same thing. Richard just never showed much interest in it; but they probably wouldn't trust him to go in alone anyway.

So, when he did show interest one day, James signed himself up for going as well.

"I'm not a kid you know..." Richard grumbled.

"Yes you are." The blacksmith replied simply to him, not even bothering to look at the scowl that had formed on the boy's face.

"I don't need a _babysitter._"

"I'm not being a babysitter, I'm just making sure you don't forget anything. Or buy things we don't need. I do this for the other two as well, don't worry."

Recognizing his defeat, Ricky just sighed quietly. He could deal with this, it wasn't that big of a deal. Besides, he could probably use the help. He would never admit it but he honestly didn't know what the heck he was supposed to be getting from town anyway; he just wanted a change of scenery.

The inside of the town wasn't very crowded, a few carts here and there and a handful of people looking at each table of goods with interest. Ricky was a bit in awe at the scene, he had seen towns before but being a thief that only dealt with the rich he just wasn't used to seeing markets and things. Plus he had never had the pleasure of _buying _things from one. Or buying almost anything. The High Five Fingers never really dealt with the more 'legal' ways of obtaining goods.

"We don't have much money," James began, looking around at all the tables and people trying to get others to buy their things.

"Can I buy something?" Richard asked the man, looking up at him with awed eyes.

"I- Well...if it's something we need I suppose." James smiled a bit when he realized just how EXCITED Ricky seemed about that idea of paying money for something. It was a weird childish reaction, like the first time a kid ever got a hold of their own money and could spend it on anything they want. Except it wasn't exactly his and he couldn't buy anything he wanted, the excitement was still there.

Ricky held up his bandaged hand with a little bounce, looking up at the blacksmith with the biggest smile the man had ever seen on him. Who knew making this kid happy could be as simple as saying 'go buy that tomato over there'.

By the end of the trip Richard was still bouncing and smiling like a giddy child, and James was surprised tto find they had just a little money leftover from what they had set aside for this trip. Even if the man knew he SHOULD take it back with them and put it back with the rest, he couldn't resist putting it in Ricky's hands and saying he could get whatever he wanted.

"Really?" The boy eye's lit up even more, a feat James had not thought possible considering how he looked before hand.

"Really." The man watched as Ricky dashed away with and incredible amount of speed, and was a bit surprised to find the place he stopped was a stall full of books. James didn't take Ricky for the reading type, heck he didn't even think Ricky COULD read.

The boy ran back, somehow even more excited than before, and held up his purchase. James found himself somehow more shocked to find that the thing the boy chose out of all of the things in the world, was a romance novel. The blacksmith just smiled to himself and shook his head.

As soon as they returned to the other men, Richard immediately dashed up to the Commander and Crash, showing off the book and rambling excitedly. The men exchanged a confused look, and glanced over to James as if asking what the heck was going on. None of them had seen the boy this happy and excited before, and it was kind of cute.

"What's it called?" Asked Crash looking at the cover picture curiously. The large man couldn't read, which was pretty common for everyone actually.

Ricky stopped bouncing, turning the book around and looking at the cover and scrunching up his nose. "Uhm..."

Everyone stopped, staring at the boy in silence. Ricky was obviously a bit disgruntled at this and his cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"I...uh...I can't read." He confessed, looking at the dirt under his feet. "I was...hoping one of you could read it for me." He looked up at the Commander with a guilty smile.

"Oh- kid I dunno..." The mustached man responded nervously, not sure how to respond to that. He knew how to read, and in most cases he'd probably be more than fine reading something to the boy, but the thought of reading some gushy love story was a little... unpleasant.

Noticing the slight falter of the smile on Ricky's face, the Commander tried smiling but just made a strange grimace face. "I guess I could...try?"

The boy began bouncing once more almost immediately.

The Commander tried his best to read to Ricky, he really did, but after about twenty pages he realized he really couldn't handle reading something like this out loud, and got pretty embarrassed and flustered rather quickly. After hitting page twenty-three he honestly couldn't deal with all the romance stuff, and had asked James to take up the duty instead.

Ricky didn't complain much about it, he was still hearing the story so why would it matter who read it?

Unlike the Commander, James had no problem reading something like this. It was a little embarrassing, sure, but he could handle it. Well, okay, maybe he was kind of flustered by it too, but Ricky seemed so entranced in the story. It was a standard love story about a pirate who fell in love with some girl or something, and they did stuff and things so they could be together. It wasn't James' cup of tea, and it was a little weird, but he wasn't going to just not read it to him when he was pretty into it.

Actually, Ricky's interest in books was a good thing. James' loved passing on knowledge, and what better a chance to do so then to teach Richard how to read? Plus, at least if the boy could read he wouldn't need to have anyone else deal with reading these types of books out loud.

So, without any real need for convincing, Richard eagerly agreed to learn how to read. James told him it was going to be a long and probably frustrating journey, but Ricky insisted that he was a fast learner and that he could probably master reading in no time.

That, however, was pretty far from the truth. Just as James had predicted, teaching the boy to read was a bit more complicated than it sounded. For one, the boy was still frustrated pretty easily. And not to mention learning to read was always a little bit harder the older one got. It seemed that this was going to take a lot more time than reading the book to him would take.

* * *

><p>Getting money travelling as a group of minstrels wasn't easy, and a lot of the time the group barely had enough money for a lot of things. On the bright side, since they were technically vigilantes, they did sometimes get gifts and free food after helping people. It was never a whole lot, but it was always nice.<p>

The money issue was only kind of a problem before Ricky had joined as the fourth member. More people meant more food, more food meant even less money than before. The first month of the boy in the troupe was filled with him insisting he was an amazing thief; but they never really listened to him. It was hard to accept that the kid they had met from a failed robbery was really as good as he claimed.

But, eventually they realized that they were probably going to have to trust him as they quickly realized just how little money they had at this point. James cursed to himself silently for giving Richard the money for all the new books they had ended up buying, but he knew that either way this problem would happen.

They were nervous the first time they told the boy he could go steal, but Ricky seemed more than confident in his own abilities.

"Don't worry, those rich people never even realize they're missing things they have so much." He tried soothing their concerns with a large grin. It had been a little over 3 months since Richard had joined them, and though he was still pretty fickle and distant at least when they did interact for an extended period of time it wasn't as forced as it used to be.

"Only rich people- got it?" James said sternly, just wanting to make sure the boy understood they wanted to HELP the poorer people, not ruin their lives even more.

"Yeah, I know." Ricky replied with an uninterested hand wave. James just made a thin line with his mouth, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, well." The Commander smiled at the youngest of the group. "You should get going, you don't want to walk around here in the dark do you?" Ricky just shook his head.

The three men waved as they watched the boy grab his daggers and sprint away, tattered scarf trailing in the wind behind him.

"Do you think he's really as good as he says?" James asked with obvious concern as he looked over to his companions.

The Commander looked over to the blacksmith and grinned, answering with a very confidant "Of course I do".

Both men looked at Crash who just shrugged. "Maybe."

They all turned back to the direction Richard had ran, and began to wait for his return.

* * *

><p>This town was rather unfamiliar, but then again all towns were unfamiliar to Ricky now. They had traveled so much and been so many places in such a short time that Richard had just gotten used to not exactly knowing where they were. Even if this place was a complete mystery to him it wasn't very hard to find where all of the nobles and other rich people lived. The largest buildings and homes were obviously just what he was looking for, and it was pretty exciting he had reached them so fast too.<p>

James had told him to just get some food, wood, and maybe metal if possible. Even thought he was rather rusty; it wouldn't be hard to get those things. Back when he still had the thieves this was pretty much a daily occurrence and it just became like a second nature to know how to get more than enough food to survive without getting caught.

He glanced down at the measly burlap sack Crash had handed him to put things in, and while it wouldn't hold much Richard was glad the large man had thought of it. He was probably going to be able to get a bigger bag or two while he was taking things, but that was still awful nice of the man to think of.

Richard ducked into a nearby bush, looking at a particularly huge house in front of him. It seemed to be the largest home in the whole area, and even though there was smoke rising from the smoke chimney the boy didn't hear any noises coming from inside. This caused Richard to smile as he thought of how easy this was probably going to be. He felt a rush of adrenaline, and it was almost as if he was back with the High Five Fingers. As if nothing had changed and this was just another day back then, just another trip to get food. That time seemed as though it had been so long ago, and not just a few short months back.

Hoping his skills were just as good as they had been back then, Richard carefully and quietly made his way to the closed door of the large building. There didn't seem to be anyone around, and the house was definitely silent as Ricky could actually hear the crackle of a fire come from inside.

Gently he pushed the wooden door open with a squeak, careful to pause and peer in before actually stepping inside. Just as he had thought, the whole place appeared to be empty. His grin grew as he stepped inside, pushing the door closed with his back as he looked around the strange room.

Whoever had this place definitely loved food, that was obvious from the strings of meat, vegetables, and dried fruit that were hanging from each wall. Curious, Ricky stepped forward and hesitantly grabbed a bulb of garlic in one hand. He inspected it, and realized that it was, indeed, just normal garlic. He scrunched up his noise in distaste as he let it go, wandering over to another hanging display of more food.

This whole room seemed weird, and Richard wondered if the rest of the house was anything like this. Deciding he would come back and grab something at a later time, he made his way through a doorway to his left.

The door lead into the room with the fire, the whole room warm and much too loud for Ricky's taste. This area was pretty similar to the other one, just with a bit less covering each wall. Whoever owned this place was probably huge, Ricky decided as he exited through a different door.

It was when he entered the next room he realized his awful mistake.

There, sitting in a chair and whittling a small piece of wood, was a large man with a large beard to match. The man looked up at the noise, and seemed almost as startled to see Ricky standing there as Ricky had been to see him sitting there.

"Hey-!" The man shouted as he stood up, knocking his chair over from how fast he moved, but he was still too slow. Richard had already dashed out of the room at full speed, ripping off a few strings of food from the wall as he ran out of the house. Ricky was hidden in the bushes safely by the time the man reached the doorway.

"Get back here! Thief!" The man's deep voice seemed to shake the ground with how loudly he yelled. "Someone come quick- I've been robbed!"

Richard didn't stay around long enough to find out if the man ever got the help he was calling for.

Luckily, the things Richard had grabbed were good enough to let him return earlier than planned. It wasn't a whole bunch, but it was enough to hold them for a while and also prove his worth as a thief. He strolled all the way back to the men with a certain sense of pride in each step.

"Ricky!" Crash shouted as he jumped up upon spotting the boy, and the other two did the same thing once they also realized the rogue had returned.

"It's not a bunch, I only went to one house..." Richard muttered as he handed the bag over to James, who just happily went through the dried foods.

"See?" The Commander smiled his goofy signature smile as he wrapped an arm around James and gently shook him a little. "I told you." The man turned his attention to Ricky with an even bigger smile. "Great job."

Crash grabbed the sack after James appeared to be done with it and just peered inside. "Cool..." He murmured as he pulled out one of the ropes and looked at the food on it.

"So," Richard was practically giddy at this point, infected with the excitement and joy from the others. "does that mean I can go back to stealing? Trust me, I can get us enough food!"

James looked from the boy worriedly over to the Commander and Crash, both men having already been looking at him with hopeful eyes. The blacksmith sighed, and looked at Ricky once more.

"Yeah, I guess you can..." They all stared as the boy practically jumped with joy. It was getting a little less rare to see him emote, but this was just wild.

"I promise I won't let you guys down, just you wait! Soon we'll eat like kings!"

Maybe 'kings' hadn't been the best way to describe the new amounts of food they had, but it was pretty damn luxurious.

* * *

><p>The group continued to travel normally, but instead of having James shop they sent Richard to steal. It was a less costly improvement for sure, and now they had more money for...everything else.<p>

However, their sense of 'normal' was about to change.

Richard was still pretty new to the group despite being with them for months. 'New' meant they still didn't know a whole lot about him, and he still didn't seem that open with everyone. Recently he seemed to hang around James more and more, but he still seemed closer to Crash and the Commander. Closer meaning he talked to them a bit more, since when around James the two just seemed to...sit quietly.

The blacksmith liked the rogue just fine, he just...didn't quite know how to talk to him was all. But that was fine with both of them apparently, it was like they had just formed a silent bond, though neither of them were quite sure how or why. It was a little weird to be quite honest, but it happened anyway and they accepted that.

They continued to spend most of the day traveling, just wandering aimlessly from town to town. Richard always quietly wondered where they were going and why, but he never vocalized the questions. He didn't need to know the answer, and besides he was pretty sure none of the men knew either. He wasn't complaining, it was fun. They did lots of weird things and met lots of equally weird people, and there never seemed to be a dull day with the troupe. This excitement had just become a part of his daily life and he _loved _it. But sometimes things got a little too weird.

They had been traveling down the same small forest path for hours now, and daylight was beginning to fade.

"Are we gonna stop soon?" Crash grumbled, looking down at his dirty feet with a cringey-pained expression.

"Yeah, yeah soon." The Commander said with a dismissive wave of his hand, obviously barely paying attention to the bigger man's complains.

James smiled, something about the Commander's perseverance to keep going was kind of...endearing, like when a cute puppy chews on your shoes and yeah you're mad but it's CUTE. He was pretty sure no one else agreed with this opinion, considering both Ricky and Crash groaned at the Commander in unison.

"Were going to stop right up there, right Commander?" James interjected before they decided to have a complete argument or complaining fest.

"Mmmyeah, right up after those- whoa!" Crash, James, and Richard all watched in confusion as the Commander suddenly broke into a sprint and ran forward to where he had just been pointing, obviously worried about something.

"What-" James started, before he took a closer look to where the Commander was headed toward. He quickly realized what it was exactly he was looking at, and then took off in a run as well.

Ricky and Crash exchanged a puzzled look, before just following the other two's leads and running to catch up with them.

There, on the ground, was an injured man. The Commander of course was the first one to reach him, and was desperately trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with him.

James arrived only a few seconds afterwards, running up and sliding to the ground next to the injured man quickly. "Crash!" The blacksmith was obviously disgruntled as he looked over to the large man jogging up. "I need you to carry him, we have to do something. I don't know how badly he's hurt-" The Commander set his hand on the man's shoulder, successfully making him stop his worried rambling.

Crash carefully picked the injured stranger off the ground, careful to mind the large gash on his chest. Richard, who had been watching everything from behind the largest man, seemed pretty interested to see who they had just found. He made his way to Crash's side, and stretched trying to get a good look at the stranger.

It was only when he had completely craned his neck to the front of the giant that he realized that he _recognized _the man they had found. "M-Monty!?"

Something about that name made the Commander look up in surprise and practically jump out of his skin when he realized he recognized the man as well. "Jimmy! We gotta help him, quick!"

James and Crash exchanged confused, worried glances with each other at the reactions of their companions. They shrugged and quickly decided they had more important things to worry about then how they knew this guy's name. Story time could come later, right now they had a life to save.

Setting everything up as a makeshift hospital of sorts wasn't an easy thing to do quickly. James, who served as the troupes 'doctor' spent the whole setup time just panicking. The fear certainly rubbed off as everyone had began to nervously run around like a group of ants whose home had been stepped on.

Richard and the Commander were the most nervous of course, eyes flickering over to the unconscious Monty every now and again just to make sure they could still see the very faint rising and falling movements of his chest as he took in fast breathes.

All they really had to do to prepare was find the tools, and lay down cloth. Very simple tasks that seemed to be a lot easier said than done. First of all, the group had a lot of things. Four people didn't just travel around with nothing, and second of all it had honestly been a while since anyone had needed any serious medical attention. Most of the time everyone just needed a bandage or something, it's not like they found people with huge holes in their chests everyday. Nevertheless, once they finally did find everything James was able to quickly patch him up.

Later that night, as the four vigilantes sat around a fire, Crash finally asked the question he and James had been wondering about all day.

"How do you know that man?" The Commander glanced over to Ricky, having been wondering the same thing about the boy. Richard just shrugged rather casually, and then said "He saved my life."

They sat in silence for a few seconds, before everyone realized he wasn't going to elaborate. So, the Commander decided to share his story instead.

"Monty and I came from a small island of the coast named Aquabania." James and Crash must have heard this part before, because they both immediately seemed pretty disinterested. Richard on the other hand, who loved hearing stories, seemed to lean forward with intrigue.

"We've been friends for as long as I can remember." James and Crash exchanged a look at this, and began acting a little more interested as he continued. "He's the reason I left home." The Commander's gaze wandered over to where the man lay under a tree on a makeshift 'bed' of cloth. "I haven't seen him in years, not since I started wandering the world."

As if on cue, there came a groaning from the man. Richard and the Commander hopped up quickly and raced over to him immediately, leaving the other two to come over more slowly.

"Where am I?" The man sat up, causing James to have a mild freak out.

"Hold on-" The blacksmith stopped mid-sentence and stared in horror as Monty undid the the bandages around his torso- revealing his chest to be completely flawless with not even a scratch.

"That's impossible." James said with mouth agape in shock.

Ricky smiled proudly as if he had been the one to do it, the Commander having a similar look and laughing boastfully.

Monty looked from the horrified James, over to the happy Richard and Commander. He himself felt a smile make its way onto his face as he recognized them. Monty opened his mouth as if about to say something, only to be shushed by the mustached man.

"What happened anyway?" The rogue asked with a curious expression and tone. Monty didn't answer and shook his head instead.

"What's going on?" James sounded aggravated and confused at this point more than anything else.

"You did a great job." Crash said in awe, earning three baffled and dirty looks.

Monty, choosing to ignore everything the others said, just smiled up at the blacksmith before standing up himself. "Thank you for your help."

"Not that you needed it." Ricky quietly interjected, earning an elbow to the side from the Commander.

"You seem to be a man of scholar." Monty continued, looking down to his bag of belongings someone had moved with him. "I think I may have something for you- if you so choose to accept." James seemed surprised at this sentence, and looked at Monty with slight suspicion. The Commander, Crash, and Richard looked between the two men with wonder and interest.

James watched all of Monty's movements with closeness and narrowed eyes. Monty reached into his rucksack, and pulled out a smooth, wooden box. It shined as it reflected the dim light of the nearby fire. The blacksmith seemed hypnotized by it as he stared with a slack jaw.

"This," Monty opened the lid of the box, revealing a beautiful velvety inside and round object resting in the center. "is the eye of knowledge."

If the box itself seemed to put James in a trance, then his reaction to the gift itself was indescribable.

He reached forward, eyes looking directly at the small orb with complete desire. Monty pulled the box closer to his chest, seemingly breaking James from his spell.

"I can't just give this to you-" The men watching let out a string of confused noises, Richard even letting out an "aw man, what?" before getting nudged once gave them all a sideways glance, but said nothing.

"The eye of knowledge requires a sacrifice if you will- I shall give it to you, but in return you must give up your arms."

Everything suddenly stopped, the world full of stunned silence. The only noises seemed to be from the fire cackling nearby- as if even all the animals were interested in the choice about to be made.

"I-" James' tongue felt heavy and dry, too big for his mouth as his eyes flickered between the box and the man holding it. He was a blacksmith, his skills came from his hands. He had spent years learning and perfecting the skill of crafting metal, but it was a trade from his father- he loved it, yes, but his heart yearned for knowledge. For knowing the unknown- he wanted to understand the world around him in more detail than others even dared to think of. He had his skill, that much was true, but how could he choose that over this? Over everything he had ever wanted, here it was- in his graft- just a few words away.

There was never any doubt in anyone's mind over what what he would pick, but it was still a bit shocking to hear the words come out of James' mouth.

"I accept."

As promised, James received the eye and lost both arms. There had been so much screaming that none of the rest of the group could tell you exactly what happened- they had all fled in hopes of not hearing the unbearable agony in the voice of their friend.

Monty seemed to have disappeared shortly after it had happened, though none of them complained about it. All the group were understandably sour about what had happened.

The eye itself was a brilliant blue, glowing and shining like nothing any of them had seen before. It was absolutely stunning and definitely stood out against his other normal one.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for James to realize just how <em>inconvenient <em>everything was with no arms. So, with no delay, he asked for help in making replacement prosthetics. With the help of Crash and the Commander, they were able to make a working pair pretty quickly. Well, quick given what was being made and how much knowledge they had on the subject.

This change in the group certainly caused a bit of a ripple in the status-quo, but it wasn't THAT hard to adjust to the changes. James was still himself, and everything found a new routine of 'normal'.


End file.
